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From hippos in space to erotic puppets: inside the wild world of Fringe’s boldest shadow show duo

13 Jul 2025

We talked to the team behind two shows at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe: Space Hippo and Shunga Alert!

We are obsessed with trying to make shows that entertain – and somehow make people’s lives a little better

You’re bringing two wildly different shows to this year’s Fringe – a sci-fi epic starring a heroic hippo and a raunchy puppet romp through Japanese erotic art. What ties these projects together for you as artists?

The first shadow puppet show we ever made was called Oni, where we told erotic Japanese folk tales. It was the first show we considered a success. That led us to creating Space Hippo, where we developed the cinematic style we use now. Shunga Alert! is a spiritual successor to Oni – it’s the show Oni would’ve been if we had known what we were doing back then. So as different as Space Hippo and Shunga Alert! may seem, for us it’s all connected.

Shadow puppetry is at the heart of both productions, but used in very different ways. How do you adapt the medium to suit such contrasting tones – from cosmic adventure to adult comedy-doc?

We love juxtaposing the old with the new. In Space Hippo, we try to make an epic, big-budget science fiction movie using shadow puppetry techniques that have existed for thousands of years. Shunga Alert! is more high-tech – we use document cameras and projection – but all the puppets are painted in the traditional Japanese ukiyo-e style, which dates back to the Edo period.

Space Hippo has already toured internationally and earned acclaim, while Shunga Alert! is a newer piece. How has your approach differed between reviving one show and debuting another?

Honestly, not that much. We’re always looking for small ways to improve our shows. It’s hard to believe we’ve been performing Space Hippo for almost ten years. It still feels very new and relevant. I think that’s the power of science fiction.

There’s an undercurrent of commentary in both pieces – environmental collapse and political manipulation in Space Hippo, and repression and fetishisation in Shunga Alert!. How important is it for you to balance message with entertainment?

It’s absolutely the most important thing to us. It’s literally all we care about. Theatre is a bad career choice for anyone who just wants to make a decent living. We don’t make shows because we want to; we have to. We are obsessed with trying to make shows that will entertain people and somehow have them leave the theatre knowing or feeling something that will make their lives a little better. Otherwise, what are we even doing?

The Fringe is famous for its creative freedom – and for its demanding schedule. How do you prepare for the intensity of the month?

A month seems like a long time, but it actually goes by very quickly. We live in Japan but travel a lot. Before the Fringe, we like to look for travel accessories to be comfortable when away from home for a long time. We bring things like our own travel pillows and towels. This year I got an ultra-portable umbrella.

Audiences might come for the laughs or the visuals, but what’s something you hope they leave thinking about after seeing either show?

One of the things we love most about theatre is that a show is a completely different experience for every single person who watches it. We do make shows with certain messages in mind and write scenes hoping to make people feel a certain way. But everyone has a different life experience, and that causes them to experience the show differently. For us, the most satisfying thing is having people tell us how the show uniquely affected them – sometimes in ways we never could have imagined.

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